Meant For Me
by samandfreddie38
Summary: Yes, unrequited love does stink, but reciprocated love is the exact opposite.  Sam&Freddie one-shot.


**Okay, so I was listening to "Meant for Me" by Chrissy Chase and got all depressed (all you Sam&Freddie shippers BETTER know why)…So I **_**had**_** to write a Sam&Freddie one-shot to make up for it. xD Centered AND italicized words are song lyrics.**

**R&R! I don't own iCarly; nothing's changed.**

* * *

SAM POV

Stupid Gibby.

Who gave _him_ the right to have a hot girlfriend? He was a GIBBY for crying out loud! The shirtless nerd who dances on tables and deserves a good Texas Wedgie from time to time.

Don't misunderstand me. I don't LIKE Gibby, if that's what you're getting at. It's just…GAH! If you were in my situation, you would understand.

I mean, so Carly forces me to ask Gibby to the dance. That _alone_ was torture. And then he has the utter GALL to say no? _Nah, I'm good._ You gotta agree; he was just ASKING for a pounding. But then he ran away crying, and then the King of the Nubs came up to me and got the guts to make fun of me for it.

NOT cool.

So I grabbed his shirt, got in his face, and watched him blubber like an idiot and try to force down a smile. Stupid Freddork.

So after watching Gibby shut his front door in my face and inwardly cursing myself for putting a skirt on for nothing, I decided to stop by the Groovy Smoothie and hang out with Carly, Fredamame, and their dates.

Big mistake.

The familiar jingle of the bell overhead announced my arrival. But no one noticed.

They were there. Standing, dancing, _together._ Her head in the curve of his neck, his hands grazing the small of her back. His eyes closed. His mouth slightly curved upward. His hand slightly adjusting its position on her.

_And if you feel my love, just let it show_

I suddenly found it hard to breathe. I halted in my tracks. It was a struggle just to balance on the stupid heels I was wearing. And I stood there like an idiot, watching them.

I knew it would happen eventually. He was always clinging to her, begging for a chance to show her that he could be everything she ever wanted. I expected her to cave in eventually.

But I never expected it would be so hard to watch.

The unfamiliar burning sensation began in my eyes. Why was I reacting so weird? Breathe, Puckett. Breathe!

But I couldn't. I had to get out of there. Him…her…_together_…

I couldn't breathe. My eyes…they were starting to form the liquid…

_And if you want my heart, just let me know_

The purse felt like a deadweight in my hand. I felt used. Broken. Worthless. Alone.

I finally forced my brain to send signals to my feet to turn around and walk out. The door felt like ice on my hand. My chest was actually in physical pain. A _lot_ of pain. I still couldn't breathe. My stomach was churning; I was going to be sick. I had to get out of there; fast.

But I couldn't help myself. The window in the door beckoned to my eyes, forcing them to gaze through the clear glass. It wasn't a dream. They were still there. Him. With _her._

I swallowed hard. The three steps required to pass the door seemed to take an eternity. A lone tear found its way out of my right eyelid, sliding down my hot and flushed skin. The coolness of it made me shiver. I furiously wiped it away.

I had left the Groovy Smoothie, but I could still hear the music. I bet that stupid nub asked T-Bo to turn it up. Thanks SO much, T-Bo. Next time you try and sell me Fladoodles on a stick, I'll pass.

'_Cause you are meant for me…_

Maybe I deserved this. I had abused him, tortured him, and hurt him for all these years. I deserved the rejection I felt. I deserved to feel ugly. Left out. Meaningless.

But why did I feel like this? My hollow footsteps echoed loudly on the harsh cement. I couldn't erase the memory of his face. His arms so gentle. So protective. So…loving.

So what if they had feelings for each other? What's the big deal?

The way her perfect dark hair caressed his shoulder. The way she fit into him like a glove.

That should be _me._

_Wait, what?_

I halted in my tracks, feeling VERY lightheaded. Oh yeah, I hadn't been breathing for the past minute.

I literally had to punch myself in the chest so my throat could open up, allowing me to take a loud gulp of sweet, sweet oxygen. My breath was unwillingly let out in shudders.

_Stupid cold weather,_ I lamely thought, trying to avoid what I was realizing.

I continued walking, imagining myself being touched like that. Being held so softly but strongly, letting go of any stress, allowing myself to melt in his arms. I imagined being in her place. I imagined _his_ hands on _my_ back, a thumb stroking the clothes on my skin in slow, small circles. I imagined the warmth from the skin of his neck transferring to my forehead and left cheek, making me feel sleepy and safe.

Why all of these thoughts toward the nub? _Why?_ Why is a Puckett feeling such mushy stuff? I hated this. _Hated_ this.

She seemed to take everything away from me. It's hard to be best friends with perfection when you're the exact opposite.

She didn't mean to, of course. But sometimes she could be so oblivious.

Okay, even if I _did_ have feelings for Benson, so what? It's not like they'd ever be reciprocated. I was unloved then, and I'm unloved now. I suddenly regretted saying those exact words to the dork a couple years ago. Now I understood how he felt. I bullied him. Now I was bullying myself. Time for a taste of my own medicine. It felt awful.

And when I finally got home that night, for the first time, I let myself break down for hours upon _hours_ in my room, pouring out my soul, my heart, and every reason I've had for living.

Unrequited love officially stunk.

* * *

TWO YEARS LATER; SAM POV

"I mean, why call it Swiss? That's such a stupid name," I complained, fiddling with a frilly pillow on Carly's bed.

"Well, maybe 'cause it's made in, oh, I dunno, _Switzerland!"_ Carly replied sarcastically. She increased the volume of the PearPod player on her nightstand. She had made a new 'rant-about-life' playlist to listen to. It was pretty good so far.

"Whatever. What they should call it is Holy Cheese. Hehe, get it? 'Cause it has holes…"

"Yeah, got it." She rolled her eyes but I saw her grin.

So it was a pretty typical Thursday afternoon of me and her lying on her bed, talking about random things and hoping _something_ would come up that would be funny enough to include it in the next webcast. Nada so far.

"And why do people call it 'assault and _battery'_? Are they _trying_ to rip on Duracell or something?"

Carly frowned slightly. "Okay, now this is getting stupid."

"Yeah." My stomach rumbled for the third time that minute. "Got any food?"

She grinned at me. "When don't I?"

"True."

"I'll bring up some fatcakes and Wahoo Punch; be right back."

"K."

She left the room and I fiddled with the zipper on my jacket for a moment before becoming completely bored out of my mind. I was looking through the songs on her PearPod when she returned. "Punch for you…" I greedily snatched it from her and started chugging. "…Punch for me, cake for you…and me." I finished the punch in record time and ripped open the fatcake wrapper.

She had barely sipped her punch by the time I was done with the fatcake. She chuckled.

"So," I sighed as I leaned back on her bed. "What shall we talk about now?"

"Hmm." Swallow. "How many types of ham-" Swallow. "…are there, Miss meat expert?" Swallow.

"Well, if you count ham and green eggs, there's 87." I swear her eyes almost popped right out of her head.

"No way."

"Yup! Now, first there's-"

_I can be fragile; I can break in two_

I froze.

_But I know I'll be swept up by you_

Pores of skin, fingernails, her dress, his arms, the back of her head, his neck. His closed eyes. His face. His almost-smile. His coffee-colored hair. His soft, strong, comforting, caring arms.

His arms. Around _her._

My stomach churned.

"Sam?"

_And if I get frightened; you'll always be_

"…Sam…?..."

_A place of quiet to calm me_

"SAM!"

"WHAT?" I shrieked back at her. My hands were shaking.

"Is everything…okay?"

_And if you feel my love just let it show_

"NO, it's NOT! Turn that OFF!" I was still yelling.

"Huh?"

_And if you want my heart just let me know_

"The song; the SONG!"

"But I like this song…"

How could she be so _stupid?_

'_Cause you are meant for me_

I screamed out of frustration and leapt from the bed. I started hightailing it out of there. I would not break down in front of her. Then I would have to tell her. _Everything._ And I just wasn't ready for that yet.

"Sam? Sam!" I heard her yell. I wasn't fazed by it.

I stumbled down the stairs, barely keeping random tears from breaking free. After what seemed like an eternity, my hand reached the knob of the front door. I tore it open only to collide with the nub.

"Sam!" Carly called from upstairs.

I shoved him out of the way when I was having trouble getting around him. My vision became a little blurry. _Oh no, they're coming. Those stupid tea-_

No. I will NOT even _think _that word.

I continued on my journey of fury down the hallway and toward the elevator.

FREDDIE POV

"Sam!" I heard Carly shout. I felt a sharp pain in my shoulder when the blonde's hands shoved me to the side. Her head was down, her hair covering her face.

This can't be good.

I hurriedly followed her down the hallway and saw her push the down button. Surprisingly, the doors immediately opened. I jogged the last few steps to make it before the doors closed.

I touched a hand to her shoulder. "Hey," I said softly.

She was startled at my appearance. Her foot rapidly shot out between the two doors of the elevator right before they shut, causing them to open back up. "Get out." She pointed with her finger and looked away.

I pushed the 'Close Doors' button repeatedly and the 'Lobby' button once while keeping Sam away from the 'Open Doors' button. It wasn't an easy task. She stopped struggling against me when the doors shut and the elevator jolted, moving down.

"Sam, what's wrong?" I tried to sound caring but not sappy at the same time. That wasn't a very easy thing to do either.

"I'm stuck in an elevator with you, Benson. That's why." She still wouldn't look at me.

"Hey, come on; you can talk to me. I'm only King of the Nubs."

"Queen of the Nubs," she corrected. I saw her hide a smile. I was on the right track.

"Ah. My bad." I removed my hand from her shoulder and nudged her with my elbow. "So what is it? Did you and Carly get in a fight?"

"No. Nothing. It's stupid."

I nervously looked at the floor number on the front wall of the elevator. Only three more floors.

"I can tell it's not nothing. Seriously; what's wrong?"

Suddenly, she exploded. "YOU! _YOU'RE _what's wrong! And Carly! Both of you! Together! THAT'S what's wrong!"

"Huh?"

_Ding. _The doors slid open. I was still confused by her outburst so I was too dazed to stop her from pushing past me and racing into the lobby. After a moment, I sprinted after her and followed her outside, ignoring Lewbert's shriek of "NO HORMONAL TEENAGERS IN MY LOBBY!"

I shoved my body against the glass doors and was met by a cold gust of wind. I ran a few more steps and used my hand to grab her shoulder and spin her around. It felt like I was slapped in the face when I saw a tear on her cheek.

"Sam…"

She wouldn't meet my eyes, pretending she had a scratch on her cheek when she itched the tear away.

"What's _wrong?_" I tried again.

And once again, she erupted in fury with the same force as an atomic bomb. Well, pretty close.

"You know what I just can't stand anymore? Being NOTHING! Being compared to HER all the time! Whether it's by my teachers, my mother, _your_ mother, or YOU! She always means more to all you people! Well you know what? I'm TIRED of it! I'm tired of NEVER coming close to PERFECTION!"

She turned on the heel of her sneaker and speed-walked away, no doubt mortified at what she just revealed to me.

I jogged after her. "Hey, Sam! Hold on a second!" I almost collided into her when she suddenly stopped and wheeled around.

"You know what ELSE I can't stand? Being USED. Being toyed with just so that people can get to Carly through ME. People making me feel WORTHLESS."

"Who makes you feel _worthless_?"

"YOU!" She shouted. Her eyes immediately widened and she took a couple of steps backward.

"Me?"

I could tell Sam wanted to just shut herself up, but the river of words wouldn't stop flowing from her lips. "Of _course_, you! Making googly eyes at her all the time! Noticing every little thing she does and completely ignoring me! Always smiling _through_ me at _her_!"

"I-I…"

"Just forget it," she muttered, and walked briskly away.

I was in a daze again and just watched her disappear down the street. I returned to the lobby where Carly thundered down the stairs, breathing hard. "Freddie, did Sam come down here?"

I nodded. "But she left." Carly's face fell. "What _happened _up there?"

She shook her head. "I still have no idea. She got upset over…a _song?"_ Her eyebrows furrowed, probably mulling over what happened in her head.

"A song? What song?"

"Um, 'Meant for Me' by Chrissy Chase, I think."

Why did that song seem so familiar?

"Why does that ring a bell?"

Carly shrugged and sighed. "I dunno. I guess I'll just talk to her tomorrow…"

I decided not to tell her about what Sam was upset about as we got into the elevator and rode up the eight floors in silence. The first thing I did when I got into my room was look up the song on MeTube. **(A/N: YouTube reference)** The musical notes that penetrated my ears stopped me cold. Memories, regret, and guilt speared through my chest.

_But…that's impossible…_

SAM POV

I paced for what seemed like an eternity in my small room. I was officially mortified beyond belief. What was I _thinking_?

Opening up like that? Spilling almost every secret I had built up inside of me for so long? I had worked so _hard_ at keeping them bottled up. And now I had unscrewed the cap and they had all thundered out of me.

And I had basically told the nub I had feelings for him without actually saying the exact words.

Stupid, stupid, _stupid!_ My head throbbed, my stomach churned, and my breaths were shaky. I did _not _look forward to explaining everything I did to them tomorrow.

_Nice work, Puckett. You idiot._

I hated myself, but what else was new?

I heard a knock on the front door. It was probably my mother; when she comes home after a night of drinking and partying and whatever else she does on these nights, she often forgets she has a key to her own house. That's how out of it she gets.

So making a promise to myself that I'd take an Advil later, I shuffled over to the door holding my head in my palm and swinging open the door.

Again, big mistake.

_Great,_ I thought bitterly. _Now I don't even have time to collect my thoughts together._

"Um, what are you doing here." I had a knack for turning questions into flat-out statements.

Instead of a normal nubby response, I heard: "You saw us that one night, didn't you." What was with _him_ turning questions into statements? That's _my_ thing.

"Uh…"

"Girls' choice dance; sophomore year."

I immediately started swearing inwardly. This conversation wasn't going to end well.

"How…did you figure it out?"

"Carly told me about the song…and I kinda put the pieces together from there."

"Oh."

"Look," he began, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I hope you know I don't have some puppy love for Carly anymore."

"You kind of made that clear at Webicon, I guess." I lied; I still had my doubts.

"Yeah. Um…"

Wow, was this awkward. You could actually _feel_ the awkward.

"I'm sorry," he finally said.

My eyebrows rose. "For what?"

He opened his mouth, but before he could answer, I interrupted with: "Look, I'm freezing. Just come in already." I stepped back and closed the door after he strolled in.

"Sorry if I…make you feel unimportant or that you have to measure up to perfection."

Hm. Figures he'd think Carly was perfection.

"And I'm not saying that Carly is perfect."

Woah, that was creepy.

"Because she's not. Neither are you, but who is?"

I just shrugged and looked at the floor.

"And what you said…about me smiling through you…or something of the sort. It's…it's not true. And I'm sorry if I make you feel worthless, or that our friendship means nothing. Because it means a whole lot more than nothing."

Hm. The nub has a way with words, doesn't he.

"I'm kinda hoping you'll say something now…" he awkwardly trailed off.

Great. I was perfectly fine with him doing all the talking, but….eh. Oh well.

"Um, thanks," I lamely said.

He tried to conceal it, but I heard a soft snort. Which of course made me realize how stupid I must have sounded after everything he said to me, which made me snort. Which made him try and stifle a snicker. Which resulted in suppressed laughs from the both of us.

Which in turn led to a full-out round of hysterics.

It felt good to laugh. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard in a _while_. And it wasn't like we had anything significant or reasonable to laugh about. We were just…laughing.

Maybe the funniest things in life aren't even funny at all.

My sides hurt so bad that I crumpled to the floor, still laughing my brains out. He keeled over, his elbow resting on his bent knee, but didn't quite collapse on the ground like I did.

So after a while when we were done howling about who _knows_ what, he stood up, grinning, holding out a hand. I gave him a weird but amused look, grabbed it, and pulled myself up. In the process, I purposely yanked him down on the ground. _Thud._

He got up slowly, smirking. "Thanks, Princess Puckett."

I felt my stomach tingle. There were certain times when I didn't feel that I was completely invisible to him, like when he called me Princess Puckett or gave me a look that told me he knew what I was thinking and he agreed. Or that one time he asked me to play meat golf. Or even times he would criticize me for doing something wrong, because he was paying attention to what I was doing and wanted me to become a better person. Trying to encourage a good side out of Sam Puckett.

"I'm gonna get an Advil," I blurted randomly, and left for my bathroom.

"Okaaaay…"

I shut the door after arriving and looked at my flushed face in the mirror. Wow. My hair was a mess. I looked sleep-deprived and haggard. My blue eyes were cloudy after trying to block tears so many times in the past hour or so.

I was one hot chick.

I grabbed two Advil from the bottle on the counter and swallowed them without water. I tried to ignore my hideous appearance and returned to where Freddie was in the living room, looking through some old CDs on one of the shelves.

He noticed my return and held up a random CD. "Cool music."

I shrugged. "Nah, that's nothing. Old stuff. I have more recent music on my laptop. Come along, Freddork."

He snickered and did as I said.

I took my laptop over to my bed and sat down. He sat beside me. I opened up PearTunes and put the computer on his lap. "Scroll and be amazed at my amazing taste in music."

"Alright."

So he scrolled. And he scrolled. I saw the side of his mouth twitch upward every so often upon seeing a familiar song. It made warmth spread across my chest.

I couldn't help but gaze at his moving eyes, seeing the reflection of the computer screen in his dark irises. Inspecting the way his mouth curved upward when he half-smiled.

It took me a while to realize he was staring back at me after looking through my songs. We made eye contact.

I thought I was going to die.

My heart thudded irregularly and my hands suddenly felt sweaty. I gave him a brief, nervous smile and turned away, face flushed. _That was embarrassing. The nub just caught me gawking at him._

"You know what song I really love out of all these?" He asked.

"Um, which one?"

He clicked the mouse. The soft guitar started to play. I froze.

_Did I tell you I knew your name, but it seems that I've lost it?_

Oh. My. Salted. Ham.

"Oh. That one," I choked out. I refused to get my hopes up. There was no way he was trying to tell me he felt the same way. Gah, I sound like some desperate character from a soap opera. "Um, relaxing. Yeah, and it has a good tune." I rambled, trying to overcome my nervousness.

"That's not why I love it."

This was a dream. It had to be. Things like this don't happen to me. I'm Sam. Sam _Puckett._ Puckett's don't have people fall in love with them. It's just not in the Puckett genes or something.

"You remember, don't you?" The nub questioned. Was he kidding? How could I _forget?_

I nodded.

He shifted a little on the bed. "Well, I know we promised to never speak of it again…but…"

"But?" I prompted.

"I'm really glad…that it happened. Now before you punch me-"

I laughed. I saw him try to laugh along with me, but I could tell he was still wary of what I would do to him.

"-I'm just saying I'm glad it was with you. And…I care about you."

He squinted his eyes shut and tensed his muscles, preparing for a Sam-attack. I just smirked at him when he opened one eye curiously after a moment.

When he relaxed a little, I had the sudden urge to thump his forehead. So I did.

"Sam!" He groaned, but I saw him smile. And that was what I was aiming for.

"So," I began. "Could we make this any more awkward?"

He laughed a little, and then got as white as a sheet as his smile quickly faded.

"Dude? You okay?"

"Well, I think I came up with a way to make it more awkward," he said after a moment.

My heartbeat picked up. "How?"

"Uh…"

"Tell me!"

"Um, I could ask you if I could kiss you again; um, hypothetically speaking, that would make it more awkward than it already is…uh..." He cleared his throat nervously.

_I don't know if I'm gonna change, wasting time and another day_

"Hypothetically, I would say 'go for it, nub.'" I felt my face heat up.

His eyes made contact with mine, and that was all it took.

He leaned in and I allowed myself to get lost in whatever was happening. His lips were on mine, and the meaning behind this caused my soul to soar in the sunset outside. I felt his hand on the small of my back, his thumb rubbing slight circles on my jacket. I felt so safe, so complete, so _beautiful_.

He pushed a little harder, making my head spin and the tips of my toes tingle. Every cell of my body contained a million watts of electricity, just waiting to shock me at the opportune moment.

And I don't care if I sound EXTREMELY cliché, but all I can say is that this nub was meant for _me._

We broke apart, giving each other stupidly happy grins. _Man, that was better than steak wrapped in greasy bacon strips!_

"So…hypothetically of course…" I shot him a smirk and continued. "How would you have liked that awkwardness?"

Without hesitation he responded, "The most perfect awkward moment I have ever experienced."

And yes, we _were_ acting like a couple of lovesick and hormonal teenagers. But frankly, I didn't really care. Because I had finally gotten my nerd.

Reciprocated love officially _rocked_.

* * *

**I know this isn't like my usual 'deep' stuff but I decided to post it anyway. Yeah, it's definitely not my best, I'll admit it. But PLEASE review! **

**Who else is excited for 'iHire an Idiot'? Feel free to rant in your reviews xD**

**And check out my other stories!**


End file.
